Statement of Faith and Practice

This statement of fundamental beliefs was written early in the life of KIFC
in order for people to understand who we are, what we believe,
and why we are here

Ultimately, our faith is in Jesus, our Lord and Savior, and only in and through Him do we have eternal life. Kyiv International Fellowship Church is an evangelical English language church committed to reaching into the international community represented in Kyiv, Ukraine. In order to be sure there is no doubt or question concerning our beliefs and practices, we provide this statement of faith and practice to which we hold and by which we try to live our life as a congregation. While it is not completely comprehensive concerning every area of Christian living, it does provide basic statements regarding the most essential of subjects.

We recognize that some people may not hold to these beliefs, and we respect that right. We still welcome all to share fellowship, worship, and ministry with us. However, anyone who does have differing views should recognize our official positions and respect them without opposition, simply "agreeing to disagree" in a Christ-like spirit. If a particular belief becomes a major issue, we also recognize that KIFC is not for everyone, and we take no offense when someone chooses to associate with another church more in keeping with his or her personal beliefs. All leadership team members are expected to hold to and support this statement of faith.

The Bible

WE BELIEVE that only the sixty-six books of the Bible are the God-breathed and, therefore, the inspired and inerrant Word of God. It is the final authority for all we believe and how we are to live. Pagan rituals and beliefs, all cultural and religious traditions, and other non-Biblical beliefs or practices or any other form of religious syncretism have no place in the life, beliefs, teachings, and practices of a Christian. The Bible is our sole source of authority and practice. The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired by God and directed by the Holy Spirit, and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation in Jesus Christ alone for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter

The Godhead

WE BELIEVE ​that the one and only true God exists eternally in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that these, being one God, are equal in deity, power, and glory. As such, the Triune God is co-existent, co-eternal, and coequal in His omniscience, His omnipresence, and His omnipotence. As the eternal triune God, He reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. We believe that God not only created the world, but also now upholds, sustains, governs, and providentially directs all that exists, and that He will bring all things to their proper consummation in Christ Jesus to the glory of His name.

He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. As all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present, His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His highest creation, human beings. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience.

Satan

WE BELIEVE that Satan, originally a great and good angel called Lucifer, rebelled against God, taking a multitude of angels with him. He is a real living being, cast out of God's presence, and at work with his demonic hosts to establish his counter-kingdom of darkness and evil on the earth. He continues his attack against mankind, God's most prized creation, and seeks its total destruction. Satan was judged and defeated at the cross of Christ, is limited in his work and will, in the end, be cast forever into the lake of fire that has been prepared for him and his angels. We believe that the Christian faces harassment, attack, oppression, and resistance from Satan, but that in the authority, power, and Name of Jesus Christ, he or she can have victory over all Satan’s schemes and activities. We believe that every unbeliever is being hindered from receiving the liberating Gospel of Jesus Christ

Man

WE BELIEVE that Adam and Eve were originally created in the image of God, righteous and without sin. In consequence of their disobedience to God, manifested as independence and rebellion toward God in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve alienated themselves from the relationship and fellowship with God for which they had been created. ​As a result, God withdrew His Spirit from man’s spirit, causing man to be “dead in his trespasses and sins”. Subsequently, all of Adam's posterity are now born subject to both imputed and inherent sin, and all humans are therefore by nature and by choice the children of wrath, justly and rightfully condemned in the sight of God, wholly unable to save themselves or to contribute in any way to their acceptance by God. Sin is defined as willful disobedience, active rebellion, or passive indifference toward God.

We believe that, apart from the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, mankind is eternally and forever separated from God, and totally incapable of restoring that relationship for which he was divinely created. We further believe that, because of Satan’s rebellion and man’s subsequent sin, the entire world system and the natural world itself are under the condemnation and curse of sin, groaning in hope of deliverance and redemption.

Jesus Christ

WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is the Eternal Son of God Incarnate, fully God and fully man; that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin; lived a sinless life; perfectly revealed and did the will of God; and offered himself as a penal, substitutionary sacrifice for sinners. By His shed blood and substitutionary death on the cross He obtained for us eternal redemption, the forgiveness of sins, sufficiency and victory in all aspects of life, and life everlasting. He was raised bodily from the grave on the third day with a glorified body; appeared to the Eleven, and to more than 500 disciples at one time; and ascended to the right hand of the Father, there to make intercession for the saints until He visibly returns to the earth to fully establish His kingdom in the union of heaven and earth, where all His followers will join Him.

He is now exalted, seated at the right hand of God where He lives as the One and Only Mediator between God and man, fully God, fully man, through whom reconciliation has been made between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers in the person and work of the Holy Spirit as the living and ever-present Lord of all.

Salvation

WE BELIEVE that salvation is the redemption of the whole man and is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. It is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, Who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. No ordinance such as baptism or communion, and no ritual, work, or any other activity other than faith on the part of man, is required in order to be saved or to remain saved, and that no such work is sufficient to secure salvation. Salvation comes to an individual only through the Blood of Christ and the Grace of God at a time when a person genuinely repents of his sins, rejects the things of this world, and accepts by child-like faith God's offer of forgiveness and redemption. Because this salvation is a free gift of God through Jesus Christ, it is both impossible to achieve it by human means or to lose it by human failure. While Fellowship with God can be broken by sin, Relationship is permanent and cannot be broken by sin.

This saving grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, also sanctifies us by enabling us to do what is pleasing in God's sight in order that we might be progressively conformed to the image of Christ. In its broadest sense salvation includes redemption, regeneration, justification, sanctification, glorification, and the full complete and finished work of Jesus Christ applied to the heart and life of the one who puts his faith and trust in Him. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

The Holy Spirit

WE BELIEVE that the Lord Jesus Christ baptizes believers into His Church by the Holy Spirit, in whom also we are eternally sealed for the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit regenerates, forever indwells, and graciously equips the Christian for godly living and service. By this activity believers are eternally secure by the grace and power of God, and this security is evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit and faithful Christian service. The Spirit also desires to fill, empower, and anoint believers for godly living, ministry and witness, and provides spiritual giftings to testify to the presence of His kingdom and to equip and encourage the church to fulfill its calling and mission.

The Ordinances

WE BELIEVE that water baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two ordinances of the church, which are to be observed following a person's salvation, until the time of Christ's return. They are not a means to salvation, but are testimonies giving descriptive and illustrative witness of God’s sanctifying grace and blessing to the faithful in Christ Jesus. We believe both ordinances are commands given by Jesus to the Church, and should be obeyed as soon as possible following salvation.

The Church

WE BELIEVE that the church is God's primary instrument through which He is fulfilling His redemptive purposes in the earth, and that it exists on earth today in two primary functioning forms--universal and local. To equip the saints for the work of ministry, God has given the church spiritual leaders to guide through example, teaching, and training. We also affirm the priesthood of all believers and the importance of every Christian being joined with and actively involved in a local community of the saints. We believe that all believers are called and gifted to proclaim the gospel and do all the works of the kingdom. We believe in the unity of faith by which all true believers can fellowship and work with each other as parts of the universal Body of Christ in fulfilling the Great Commission, and that every effort should be made to do so

The Great Commission

WE BELIEVE that God has called the church to preach the gospel to all nations, then baptize and equip them to join the local church in God’s mission; and especially to remember the poor and to minister to their needs through sacrificial giving and practical service. This ministry is an expression of the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ and is an essential part of the kingdom of God.

The Second Coming of Christ

WE BELIEVE in the literal second coming of Christ at the end of the age when He will return to the earth personally and visibly to consummate His kingdom. We also believe in and are praying for a great end-time harvest of souls and the emergence of a victorious church that will experience an unprecedented unity, purity, and power in the Holy Spirit.

Heaven and Hell

WE BELIEVE that when the Christian dies he/she passes immediately into the blessed presence of Christ, there to enjoy conscious fellowship with the Savior in a literal heaven until the day of the resurrection and glorious transformation of the body. We also believe that heaven and a renewed earth will be joined in the last day, where the saved will then forever dwell in blissful fellowship with their great Triune God. We further believe that when the unbeliever dies he/she is consigned to a literal place called hell, there to await the day of judgment when hell will be swallowed up in the Lake of Fire prepared for the devil and his angels, and where he/she shall then be punished, eternally separated from the presence of God, and ever without end or relief.

The Family

WE BELIEVE in the divine origin, purpose, sanctity, and preservation of the human family as described in Scripture, and that, of all human institutions is, along with the Church, closest to the heart of God. We believe that marriage is ordained by God, and that the only true marriage is between a man and a woman who have committed themselves to unconditional love for each other, and that it is a relationship that is to remain until death or the return of Christ.

God's Act of Grace

WE BELIEVE in election as the gracious work of God, in which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies for the purpose of service in his kingdom, and in which God ultimately glorifies sinners, It is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humble service.

All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

Stewardship

WE BELIEVE ​that every person is to be a responsible steward of all God has entrusted to Him. God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship of responsibility to God in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their resources obediently, cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer's cause on earth. This is to be expressed through tithes and offerings both of money and other material resources, but also of time and energy.